Leo Igwe As it stands now, the fate of Mubarak Bala, Nigerian humanist who was arrested last week is unknown. Nobody is sure if Mr. Bala is alive or dead. If he is alive, no one knows the conditions of his detention. Mr. Bala was last seen on April 29, 2020, a day after police…
The Speaker of the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) has accepted a motion by Tun Dr Mahathir, Member of Parliament for Langkawi, that the present PM does not command the confidence of the majority of the Dewan. The Speaker said he made this decision to be fair and just and to uphold the integrity of…
On 8 May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly officially declared: ‘The world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox.’ The declaration marked the end of a disease that had plagued humanity for at least 3 000 years, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone. It was ended, thanks to a…
WHO and the European Investment Bank enhance cooperation to support countries in addressing the health impact of COVID-19 The first phase will address urgent needs and strengthen primary health care in ten African countries Enhanced WHO-EIB partnership will scale up financing to assure the chain of essential supplies, including personal protective equipment, diagnostics and clinical…
The third meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), took place on Thursday, 30 April 2020, from 12:00 to 17:45 Geneva time (CEST). Proceedings of the meeting Members and advisors of the Emergency Committee were convened by teleconference. Membership of the Emergency Committee was expanded to reflect the…
Indonesia recently completed the last of its annual large-scale treatment for lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis or Penyakit Kaki Gajah) in Malaka District located in its southernmost province, East Nusa Tenggara. Unprecedented progress by the National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme has strongly placed the country on the path to achieving the elimination of lymphatic filariasis…
Heads of state and global health leaders today made an unprecedented commitment to work together to accelerate the development and production of new vaccines, tests and treatments for COVID-19 and assure equitable access worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has already affected more than 2.4 million people, killing over 160,000. It is taking a huge toll on…
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO has seen a dramatic increase in the number of cyber attacks directed at its staff, and email scams targeting the public at large. This week, some 450 active WHO email addresses and passwords were leaked online along with thousands belonging to others working on the novel coronavirus…
Shutting down immunization services in the COVID-19 pandemic risks triggering a resurgence of diseases that can be prevented with safe and effective vaccines, warns WHO in the lead-up to World Immunization Week (24-30 April). When immunization services are disrupted, even for brief periods during emergencies, the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, such as measles and…
GENEVA: World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned here on Friday that lifting restrictions “too quickly” could lead to a deadly resurgence of Covid-19, Xinhua news agency reported. Noting at a regular press briefing that “some countries are already planning the transition out of stay-at-home restrictions,“ the WHO chief warned that lifting restrictions…